Page 95 of Tides of Shadows

Idragged myself toward my chambers. Dawn had already broken, and the world looked as if someone had rinsed all color from it. Along the way I passed the remnants of the night: blood, cinders, the bodies of rats. In many places, human bodies lay there too. Bitten, torn, abandoned and motionless. The air carried the smell of smoke, blood, and iron.

I reached the living room and sank into a chair. I was smeared with soot and blood, my hands shook as if with fever. Mirabel, paler than her wont, prepared a bath without a word. Steam rose from the bathtub, scented with herbs. It took effort to undress.

When I slid into the water, there was a moment of ease. Only a moment. Each time I shut my eyes, I saw his face. Malric. I felt his touch upon my skin. I shuddered as if ice had been poured into my veins.

After the bath I dressed in clean clothes and did not know what to do with myself. I felt hollow. I did not wish to return to my bedchamber. I could not bear to look upon that place. I sat in the gardens where Aidenar and I had once trained. It was quiet there. No water, no laughter, no life.

Today should have marked the final day of the Gathering and the Election. But the attacks had forced Cassandra to postpone until tomorrow. Another day trapped within these walls. Another night to endure.

When evening fell, I could not force myself to return to my bedroom. I remained in the living room through the long hours of darkness. My eyes would not close. I could not sleep. I did not wish to.

At dawn, I heard movement in the main courtyard. Several lords were packing already to depart for home. Everyone was terrified. Everyone wished for this to end so they might flee to their distant keeps and forget what they had witnessed here.

I delayed until the final moment before joining the Gathering. I did not wish to attend the vote. I didn’t want to know how it would end. What we were. Aidenar and I. What each outcome would mean for us.

If he won, he would become the Regent for five years. Five years in this city, beside his mother, bound to the same life of intrigues.

If he lost, he would fail his Family and all their expectations. The Cavareths would lose their advantage. Everything he had been trained for would turn to nothing.

And where did I stand in this arrangement? What was I to him in either future?

Finally, everyone made their way to the Inner Court. The square had been cleared, though the scent of death still lingered. I walked there as if in a dream, my head empty, my chest heavy. The lords took their seats. I sat beside my father. Cassandra mounted the dais and opened the council.

“We meet for the last sitting of the Gathering,” she began. “After last night, no one needs to be told how grave our situation is. A dozen people are dead. Dozens of wounded are fighting for their lives in the infirmary. But together, with the gods’ forces, we managed to repel the enemy attack.”

A murmur went through the hall. Cassandra lifted her chin.

“Yes, an enemy. Someone actively trying to destroy the world as we know it. The attacks, the Plague, the rats, these are no coincidences. I believe we all see this now.”

Aidenar watched me, but I couldn’t return his gaze. My eyes felt empty.

“When you return to your lands,” Cassandra went on, “search every temple. Everyone. If you find black vases, destroy them. Through these the enemy spreads the disease,” she paused.

“And now... The Election.”

“As you have witnessed,” she declared, “the Plague may be defeated through the power of the elements. Nothing will grant strength and protection to the Dominium as surely as a Regent bound to elemental power. I announce my son, Aidenar Cavareth, as successor to his father.”

It came as no surprise. But Aidenar seemed absent, distant, as though none of it concerned him.

Eric Salvadore rose.

“We thank Cassandra for holding the Regency to its end,” he said, his voice steady. “But as we can all see, the Dominium wavers. We stand vulnerable before an unknown force. I believe the time has come to change our course and restore stability to our lands. I offer myself as Regent.”

The hall stirred with whispers. Many glances turned toward Lord Dorthal, waiting for him to rise and announce his presence, but he merely inclined his head toward Eric Salvadore.

“Then we shall vote,” Cassandra said.

By tradition, the eldest of each Families cast the vote. In the Dominium, you could of course vote for yourself.

For Eric Salvadore the voices rose: Dorthal, Mermont, Orthalis, Iskareth and Salvadore.

My father remained silent, he was deciding for our Family now.

For the Cavareth heir: Cavareth, Dravenor, Zorathiel, Veymaris—I heard my father’s booming voice. Then silence.

Five against four.

In the event of a tie, the Regent’s vote carried double weight. And so, all waited for the final voice.